>> live, local, late breaking-- this is wbal 11 news at 12:00. >> had good afternoon, everyone. our big story -- after two years of nonstop campaigning, the race for the white house, aides tonight. across america, voters are casting ballots in a presidential race polls show are too close to call. we begin our team coverage in

colorado. >> long lines at polling stations across the country in a battle ground states like ohio, virginia, colorado and nevada -- also in hurricane damaged areas still without power, ballots are being cast in tents. after more than a year of campaigning, the candidates themselves bloated today. mitt romney in his home town of boston. his vice-presidential pick voted in wisconsin. >> i feel great today. >> vice-president joe biden waited in line at his polling station in delaware. >> i'm feeling pretty good >> president obama, back in chicago, held his final campaign rally in iowa on monday night. he will not be voting today. he voted early. boats that were not allowed to be counted until today. but it is the last minute undecided votes that has romney making a final push, adding campaign stops in pennsylvania

and the toughest battle ground ball, ohio. with polls heading into election day showing a virtual tie, it is the handful of swing states that will likely determine the presidency. the tallies will be carefully scrutinized as the nation prepares for what could be a very long night of counting. >> thank you. maryland voters are making their way to the polls today. many are lining up before they opened. our reporter joins us now live in north baltimore where she is engaging the pulse of voters there. >> it has been a steady stream of the voters at this particular voting place. the election judges are not getting a break at all. you have been doing this for 20 years. what has it been like? >> it has been hectic because

you line up outside waiting to vote and an election like this is always a large for local elections don't always draw the cloud -- don't always draw the crowds. this particular day, we have not been able to get a particular break. the line has been constantly steady all day long. >> any problems are fights? >> we had some checkers but no questions. everything has been working good and we had a good crew here. we're working to try to accommodate the voters as best as we can. >> hopefully you will get a snack. >> eventually. >> thank you for talking with us. i did try to get an idea of how things are going up across the state and they sampled some representative precincts around the state. they sampled one in different areas. turnout in hartford county is

16%. there were numbers for baltimore city, but when i spoke with armas said jones, he said he thought had 20,000 people voting in baltimore city. baltimore county has an 18% turnout. you are going to have long lines. we're getting reports into the station of people complaining about long lines and not enough machines. but we have a big general election, we have long lines and that is a good thing. these people are getting out and the polls will be open until 8:00 tonight. if you are in line at 8:00, you will be able to vote. they will not kick you out of the line. the best time to vote today i'm told is between 10:00 and 4:00. go get in line if you have to. >> just be patient. besides electing a president, maryland voters will select a new u.s. senator. several will choose a

representative and major issues will appear on your ballot. let's look at this year's referendum questions. question for asks if you support the maryland dream act. that would provide tuition for children of illegal immigrants if you attended in maryland high-school for three years and your parents pay state taxes. another major item is question 6 which decides whether or not to uphold the new state law legalizing same-sex marriage. opponents see it as a religious issue but proponents say otherwise. >> we support marriage quality because it is civil rights and we will stand by at. >> if question 6 is approved, churches would be protected from unions that would violate their faith. the final question is question 7 which involves gambling and the investment of millions in casinos.

>> question 7, if it fails tomorrow, we will respect the people's voice and go home and. we will not invest $800 million and employed as people. we will respectfully leave the state. >> if passed, table games like blackjack and poker would be played in all maryland casinos. wbaltv.com is your home for election news today. you can find a voters guide, polling locations and more at wbaltv.com, just click on politics. let's get a check on your election day forecast. >> the weather has been just fine today and we expect that to continue. no weather problems for voters. just a few clouds out there. 44 at the airport. we will only make, 10 degrees

below average. but clouds will continue to pick up tonight and we can't -- we expect the storm to come up the coast tomorrow. but your seven-day forecast in just a few minutes. >> coming up next, a warehouse engulfed in flames. fire crews remain on the scene eight hours after it began. >> i will hav

>> it was quite a morning -- fire crews are still on the scene of a fire that started just before 4:30 this morning. this story was brought to you as breaking news and we have more on the late breaking details. >> fire officials say they have the fire under control around 10:00 this morning. crews remained on the scene. they are putting out hot spots and making sure the fire is indeed out. this is the second time they have been out here in last five months to fight a fire in this same building. flames and smoke pour from a five story building. more than 100 firefighters were pulled here just before 2:00 on tuesday morning.

>> my wife said fire. >> they will me up at 5:00 in the morning. >> there were no injuries -- no injuries to civilians or firefighters. but the fire damaged the building and made it unsafe for fire crews. >> we have gone swiftly to an exterior operation. we have had partial collapse of the building in their rear. >> it wasn't just the fire itself -- thick, black smoke blanketed fells point and created a sabbatical for miles. you can see the smoke and everything. and you can smell a small. >> but this is not the first time firefighters have been called to this same building. how another for alarm fire raged here in june. it is a vacant building and former supermarket that has caught fire twice.

investigators will be able to give us a report until some point. >> him hire investigators are on the scene checking it out but they are not sure what caused this fire. that answer will come later. as for the fire in june, they never determined an official cause. >> thank you. still to come, talking politics at the office -- is it acceptable or just awkward? a quarter of a million americans had to say next in "consumer alert." >> it is quite right now but we expect things to change as we head into the middle of the week. week. first, it is 44 degrees7ó

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>> we started off this morning with temperatures in the upper twenties and low 30's, below freezing for a loan while. that put an end to the growing season. it has been a struggle to get temperatures to warm up today. 42 that airport. in cecil county, we will only climb to around 50 later this afternoon. that is a good 12 degrees below average. we should still be up around 60. we're watching clouds coming into the south. this is out ahead of the storm developing off the southeast coast, the one we have been talking about. you can see some rained down around that plant and another piece of energy around chicago. these two will combine to create the nor'easter on the coast

later today and tomorrow. that will stay south of us today. if you are voting this evening, you will not have to worry about any other problems. the storm will be off the coast, but we have some good news -- computer models taking it further east than we thought. we will still be in the storm but we will not have a direct hit in baltimore. the western edge of the precipitation may only got to frederick county. west of there, you may not get any precipitation at all. the closer you are to the coast, the worse it is going to be. let's break it down -- the western shore, including baltimore, we will get a mix of rain and snow showers. i think it will be cold enough for snow but not cold enough to stick. you see some snow coming down, it may stick on the grass, especially north and west of town but it will basically be a cold rain showers. temperatures will only be in the

upper '30's and low 40's. on the eastern shore, you are closer to the storm, so it will be steady rain for you. it will be a tight gradient there on who really gets hit with the storm and he doesn't. sunshine and clouds for the rest of the afternoon with temperatures between 47 and 52 degrees. it should stay dry tonight. if you are going to the polls this evening, no weather problems. during that day tomorrow, eight backs of rain and snow showers with a high of only 42 degrees. there could be some left over rain or snow showers before it clears up. then we are looking forward to nice weather going into the weekend, back into the 60s on saturday and sunday. >> spirit airlines is implementing a new baggage the. starting today, it will cost

$100 to check your bags at the gate, more than double the old $45 fee. there also raising fees for carry-on bags. they say the moves are consistent with its business model of charging low ticket fares and adding on fees and charges for reserved seats and baggage. it is election day and while networks are abuzz with a voting topics right now, most people have not been talking politics at the office. according to one study, 66% of american workers do not share their political affiliation at work. more than a quarter of all americans say they feel like they need to keep their political affiliation a secret from their bosses and co- workers. politics may not be a hot topic at the office, but the election is captivating the attention of the entire globe. there has been an enormous amount of interest overseas and many believe our decision has far reaching implications.

>> the u.s. election is a top story today outside the u.s. as well. >> a fight to the finish, america goes to the polls. >> covered all over television with court -- the foreign correspondents such as from washington and florida but all over the u.s. >> the race is almost over for the two men who would be president. now what is up to the voters to make their choice. >> extensive, it is extremely thorough coverage in newspapers and on web sites. every foreign news organization has a prominent section devoted to the u.s. election. part of the reason for all of the global attention is so many people in so many other countries are looking for a catalyst for change in their own nation coming from a strong decision in america. there will be live coverage of the results, even though it will be in the middle of the night.

>> now we have some answers for your plant and gardening questions. the pineapple is back. >> this is a great plant -- the pineapple is a symbol of welcome. it's a wonderful plant toward the holidays. they are fun to grow. this is a mini pineapple. but you can start a plant from the top of a pineapple. it takes a while to get to this state that is a fun project. >> our first question is about frost. we saw at this morning on car windshields. it makes the person think about her garden. is there anything i can do to protect my plant from frost? >> eventually, the cold weather will get them but if you want to protect your plants, you can put an old sheet over your plants

and when the frost starts to settle around daybreak, a lot of times we will be out watering the plants to make sure the water protect them. but it is tough and there is a product called frost prove at the stores that gains in three to nine degrees and protect the plants. if you have annuals or tropical, the frost is going to get to them. >> are there any plans i can buy that will flower during the cold months? >> things like pansies when it's not really cold will give plenty of color. the greens of some ornamental plants turned purple and will give you some color. the -- there are some. >> the last question -- am looking to do something with all of these jackelyn turns.

can pump can be used as fertilizer? >> it can be used as compost. if you have a compost pile add it to the pile. if you have any seeds, maybe next year you might have some pumpkin plants sprouting in the compost pile. they are kind of fun. >> thank you very much. great to have you as always. if you have a plant question and would like to have answered, send it to plant questions that -- plant questions that wbaltv.com. wbaltv.com. i've always been lucky.

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>> a woman in cleveland gets a lesson in patience after driving on a sidewalk to avoid being behind a school bus. the 32-year-old drives onto the walkway as the bus was unloading children. court records show a judge ordered her to stand at the intersection for two days next week wearing a sign that says "only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus." i guess she won't be doing that again. coming up at 5:00, our live

coverage of election day 2012 kicks off a full night of complete reports following the late breaking details at the polls. we have reporters in boston, chicago and all around the baltimore area ready to break in with crucial information. we are monitoring the possibility for severe weather that could hit the eastern shores tomorrow. crews continue to battle a massive fire in fells point. now, york and maryland lottery pick three and picked four numbers. >> good afternoon, maryland. your pick three numbers are 8. 1. 2. 8,1,2. celebrate with the it's a wonderful life scrapped off. you can win $20,000 instantly.

for a chance to win more cash prizes. the drawing official is running around in your pick for numbers are -- 6. 2. 4. 8. six,2,4,8. >> the sunshine is going to fade away and the clouds will come in. we will only make it to 49 or 50 degrees. breezy and chile with a high of 42 and a mix of rain and snow showers. a little worst on the eastern shore and beaches but we will miss the worst of the storm here in baltimore. >> thank you for joining us. >> have a great day.